semiconductor Archives – The Green Optimistic

Graphene Solar Cells Could be More Efficient than Semiconductor

Benji Jerew — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 20:17:55 +0000

Like the semiconductors silicon and gallium arsenide, graphene absorbs photons, but unlike these, the photon forces multiple electrons from their orbits, instead of just one. Semiconductor photovoltaic solar cells operate absorbing photons. When a photon is absorbed, it knocks a single electron out of place, which can be collected to generate an electric current. There […]

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Ten Times Longer Battery Life Thanks to New Semiconductor Material

Mila Luleva — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:46:24 +0000

Novel methods and materials that can be used in building integrated circuits have the potential to reduce power, which would ultimately lead to extending battery life of mobile applications up to 10 times. This was demonstrated by a team of researchers from the Rochester Institute of Technology, international semiconductor consortium SEMATECH and Texas State University. […]

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New Japanese Magnet Has Fewer Electrons, Leads to More Efficient Energy Tech

Leigh Hutchens — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 06:12:22 +0000

Researchers at the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute at Wako, Japan have discovered a magnet that becomes weaker as the number of electrons increases. In other words, a magnet can be stable without excess electrons, signifying the presence of an energy-dissipation-free electrical mode suitable for low power electronic applications. Powerful magnets do not need an abundance […]

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Semiconductor CEOs Think Smart Grids are a Smart Idea

Janina Lazo-Cruz — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 07:27:38 +0000

At the recent Electronica exhibition held in Munich, Germany, the CEO panel discussion that comprised of four bosses of the semiconductor industry focused on one essential topic – the smart grid challenge, a vision that aims to provide improvements in reliability, security, economy, efficiency, environmental impact, and safety in power distribution. STMicroelectronics’ Carlo Bozotti, NXP […]

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New Technology Allows Fabrication of Solar Cells from any Semiconductor Material

Maria Reyes — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 20:02:01 +0000

Researchers at Berkeley Lab are developing a novel technology that allows the fabrication of low-cost, high efficiency solar cells from any semiconductor material. The new technology allows scientist to sidestep the difficulty in chemically tailoring many earth-abundant, non-toxic semiconductors such as metal oxides, sulfides and phosphides. The paper describing this research was published in Nano […]

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Diamonds Could Offer Power and Carbon Savings In Hybrid Cars' Power Control Electronics

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 08:31:59 +0000

So far, diamonds had always been considered perfect for making jewelery or for cutting through the toughest materials on earth. Still, due to their perfect carbonic structure, diamonds prove themselves very good electric insulators and in some cases can act just like a semiconductor.

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Precision Nanoparticles Technology to Revolutionize Solar Cells

Cristi — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:35:50 +0000

The chemists from the Idaho National Laboratory and Idaho State University may have found the gold mine of solar energy efficiency. They invented the manufacturing of a highly precise and uniform nanopaticle that improves solar cells and further spurs the growing nanotech revolution.

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Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Got Better by Using Ionic Salts

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 23:43:51 +0000

A group of researchers from the Universidad Pablo de Olavide, in Seville, Spain, led by Juan Antonio Anta, are working on optimizing Grätzel solar cells by incorporating ionic salts, known as green solvents, with a view to preventing evaporation of the liquid compounds and the consequent reduction in efficiency. Grätzel (dye-sensitized) cells work by using […]

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IBM Chooses Lithium Air Batteries for 500 Miles EV Range

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 22:57:57 +0000

IBM, through its "Big Green" - "Battery 500" project, aimed to produce a battery for an electric car that would be able to carry a family-sized sedan up to 500 miles, spotted the lithium-air (STAIR) invention as its goal, and predicted that they could improve the STAIR battery further with the nanoscale semiconductor manufacturing techniques they possess.

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Fraunhofer Develops New, Easy to Make High Efficiency Solar Cells

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:06:01 +0000

Yet another efficiency record has been established for mass-producible solar cells: 23.4%. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) from Germany succeeded to manufacture a single-crystal silicon solar cell of a thin p-type semiconductor layer residing on an n-type semiconductor substrate. The solar cell's area is 2x2cm.

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